This invention relates to a method of and a display system for monitoring a signalling network, and relates more particularly but not exclusively to a method and display system for the monitoring of telephone network traffic.
In contemporary systems for monitoring telephone network traffic, information about a xe2x80x9ccall modelxe2x80x9d (i.e. sequence, direction, type, source and destination of each message) is generally in the form of string of alpha-numeric characters, and is displayed as such on a monitor screen (i.e. the display screen of a video display unit). An operator may find it difficult to interpret such data, particularly as the data are cryptic, frequently complex and covering a wide range of variables, and may be changing rapidly. It has been realised that the traffic data can be more easily interpreted if at least basic traffic parameters were presented in a logical graphic form.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for displaying graphically the inter-relationship of a sequence of events in a signalling network, the method comprising deriving parameters of a said events from said network and displaying said parameters by means of respective lines on a display.
According to a-second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for monitoring a signalling network, the method comprising receiving information in the form of data representative of the source and the destination of a monitored message carried by the signalling network, processing such received data to derive a display-driving signal for visual data display means which display-driving signal causes the display means to display a first line indicative of the source of the monitored message, and to display a second line indicative of the destination of the monitored message, the display-driving signal additionally causing the display means to display a transverse arrow linking the two lines from the source to the destination as indicated by the direction of the arrow.
Further according to the present invention there is provided a display system for monitoring a signalling network, the display system comprising a visual data display means and further comprising information processing means coupled to a traffic monitoring system to receive therefrom information comprising data representative of the source and the destination of a monitored message carried by the telephone network, characterised in that the information processing means functions to process such received data to derive a display-driving signal for the visual data display means which display-driving signal causes the display means to display a first line indicative of the source of the monitored message, and to display a second line indicative of the destination of the monitored message, the display-driving signal additionally causing the display means to display a transverse arrow linking the two lines from the source to the destination as indicated by the direction of the arrow.
The first and second lines are preferably displayed on the display means as substantially vertical lines, the lines preferably being mutually laterally displaced on the display means so as not to overlie one another and so as to be visually distinct. The display-driving signal preferably further causes the display means to display a label against each of the lines, each label being indicative of the respective locations of the source and of the destination. The display-driving signal preferably also causes the display means to label the arrow with an indication of the message identity and/or other selected message parameters or attributes.
The transverse arrow preferably extends from the source line to the destination line. The arrow may be horizontal or be such that the head of the arrow (indicating the message destination) is lower than the tail of the arrow (indicating the message source).
The information processing means is preferably such as to receive from the traffic monitoring system information comprising data representative of the source and the destination of a further monitored message subsequently carried by the telephone network, the information processing means functioning to process such received data to determine if the location of the source of the further monitored message coincides with the location of either the source or the destination of the or each message previously monitored and still displayed, and if there is no coincidence, to derive a further display-driving signal which causes the display means to display a further line indicative of the source of the further monitored message, the information processing means also functioning to process the received data concerning the further monitored message to determine if the location of the destination of the further monitored message coincides with the location of either the source or the destination of the or each message previously monitored and still displayed, and if there is no coincidence, to derive a further display-driving signal which causes the display means to display a further line indicative of the destination of the further monitored message, the further display-driving signals additionally causing the display means to display a further transverse arrow linking the two lines respectively denoting the source and the destination of the further monitored message, the arrow linking these two lines from the source to the destination as indicated by the direction of the arrow.
The or each such further line is preferably displayed on the display means as a substantially vertical line, and the or each such further line is preferably displayed together with an adjacent label indicative of the location of the source or destination of the further monitored message. The further display-driving signal preferably also causes the display means to label the further arrow with an indication of the identity and/or other selected parameters of the further message.
The further transverse arrow should normally not overlie the or any of the transverse arrow(s) still displayed in respect of previous message(s), and the further transverse arrow is preferably displayed below the or each transverse arrow still displayed whereby transverse arrows are added to the display in a non-overlapping manner.